1The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

2to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

4Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

5"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

6Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."

7But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.

8Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD."

9Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

10See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."